1. Location
~ Your tag must be reasonably close to Harrisonburg or Staunton. Lets go for 45 minutes to either city from your photo. And be aware not everyone does 100mph on gravel.
~ The tag MUST be on a road with a surface of dirt, gravel, mud, grass, rocks, or sand. Basically, anything except concrete and asphalt.
~ The road on which your tag resides MUST be a legal road for motorcycle use!!! Other than that, any road is okay: dirt, gravel, singletrack, water crossings, etc.
~ Churches may not be tagged on Saturdays. It is disrespectful to the congregation for bikers to show up Sunday Morning.
~ "Valley Tag" just means it was started by, and primarily for, valley inmates. The mountain tops aren't intended to be boundries--feel free to use both sides of the mountains.
~ Tags can be placed close to other tags, but please try not to make them the same as previous tags. The official list of tags is maintained by HBurgNinja, and can be found here: Valley Tag Map

2. Tag Photos
~ Building and landmarks are limited in this game. Don't expect us to recognize a single Oak tree because some woodpecker made a hole in it. Go for places that people will recognize.
~ Make your photographs count. If you pick a very recognizable landmark, it still won't do me a damn bit of good if you take it at 3 in the morning with no flash. It's okay to post 2 or 3 photographs if you think it is neccessary for us to recognize the location.
~ Your bike must be in at least one of the photographs.
~ Indicate the location of the Geocache in at least one photograph (or a good description).

3. Gameplay
~To play, go for a ride. Find the location tagged in the previous post. Keep riding. Find a new place, and take a picture of it. Then post both pictures together.
~ You may not claim a tag and ask others to wait until you find a new place to tag.
~ By using a GeoCache, we are able to determine who arrived at the tag first. If you arrive at a tag and do not find the Cache, you have probably been "Bruced", meaning someone else got it first. Whoever gets the cache first gets to post the next tag.
~ File photos are generally not allowed. One exception will be made: if you take a photo for a new tag when also claiming one, only to find that someone else has beat you to it when you get home to upload them, you may use that photograph for 24 hours afterwards.
~ No cheating. Cheating means telling someone where the tag is, or making the tag so one certain person will get it.
~ If hints are given about the tag to players outside of this thread (For example, discussing in person, or through PM), the relevent information should also be posted in this thread to keep the game fair.
~ If a tag is on a road which is impassable due to closures or inclement weather (such as sheets of ice), the tag may be claimed with a photo of the closure sign or impasse. The location may be used at a later date for a new tag. Do not use this just because you don't want to take your Desmosedici through a puddle--the road must be officially closed or present a situation which would endanger the saftey of any taggers.
~ Reasonable Effort: There are occasions when things just don't go as planned. If you go to a location, search for an honest 20 minutes for the cache, and can't find it, we'll give you the point. It's not worth spending hours searching for a cache which may have already been grabbed, or stolen by a local. Do make every effort to find it, and if you have the correct tag shot, and it is confirmed that you did not get bruced, you will get the point (assuming, of course, you also post a new tag). Please return to the spot (in daylight, perhaps) to grab the cache at a later date. This reasonable effort clause also applies to other situations: camera malfunctions, or circumstances beyond your control that prevent you from adhering strictly to the rules. (If you can't post a picture, drawings are acceptable, or REALLY good descriptions of the tag and cache locations.) Don't abuse this, but we all know that sometimes, stuff happens.
~ Penalties: If you break a rule, such as posting a tag on a paved road, grabbing a tag without posting a new one, or posting a tag on posted private property, you must wash Skippii's bike. In severe cases, you must clean and lubricate his entire engine and drivetrain with only a single toothbrush. You must then brush your teeth with it.

4. Theme Weeks
~ Occasionally, we will have specific weeks where our tags will reflect certain themes. During this time, you are encouraged (though not required) to post tags that go along with the theme.
~Theme weeks begin the first Sunday of every month, and continue until Saturday.
~The first person to place a tag after Midnight on Sunday morning gets to chose the theme for the week.
~ The themes may be specific (roads with the word "Gap" in them) or vague (Water Crossings required or altitudes over 2,000ft)
~ If you post a tag that does not fit in the theme (discouraged), indicate this fact in your post as it will likely confuse others when figuring out the clues.

Keep this thread reasonably on topic. For chatting and arranging group rides, please use the Turnpike thread.

Here's an easy one - easy to recognize, and easy to get there.
This always used to be a great dirt road--but apparently some asshat in the last month or two has gone over it with gravel and a steamroller---oh well, at least it's not asphalt

You bring up a good point about the tag and nighttime pick up. If you had gone up there this evening you could have taken some pics of the fire pit or burnt trees around as proof. If we had a roving "geocache" style item or token, then that could also be evidence that you were there. Just food for thought in the future.

I will make it a point to have something in the image identifiable and able to be photographed at night.

Gimmeslack said:

we'll see how cold the morning is

Click to expand...

It was a frigid 27 degrees when I went to meet Skippii this morning. My hands were freezing by the time we hit the 33 twisties. Can't wait to install the new hand guards to shield some of the wind. Have a good ride tomorrow.

I think if it is put somewhere discrete in the tag photo with an arrow or clue, it should be safe for the tag duration. It was only $3 so I can replace it with a Ducati or MV Augusta next time. Now for the mini ADV Sticker...

As we get more adventurous in this game, marking more and more obscure locations, perhaps we should change the cache to things like:
- A gallon jug of gasoline
- Tire patching kit
- SPOT or Emergency Locator Beacon

So, I guess for me to claim this tag, I'd have to take pictures clearly indicating that I went up there again without HBN, right?
Okay, here you can clearly see that I returned to the spot, and HBN's TW200 is nowhere in sight - obviously, this was taken on a different day than the one HBN posted of both of our bikes.

Cool game guy's! I'll have to come over and get in on some of this action. After doing the Shenandoah 500 I think I have a few places in mind to tag in that area.

So I wonder who will be the first person that's lost and/or stranded out in the woods playing this game. Maybe it is a good idea that a buddy come along...but that buddy should not be grabbing the tag right away while it is being set!